1). Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for reproducing operation guidance information or multi-media information. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for reproducing operation guidance information depending on an occurring event when the event which needs measures taken by an operator occurs in an object apparatus, and a method and an apparatus for reproducing multi-media information (including the above operation guidance information) including image information and sound information.
2). Description of the Related Art
If any trouble (an error, a necessity of medium supplement, etc.) occurring from a physical cause, which is not bug of a computer, occurs to a main apparatus or a peripheral equipment and there is a necessity for any recovery work by an operator, or the operator (a user) needs an operation guidance with or without a trouble, an operation guidance screen (a help screen) is displayed on a display of the main apparatus or on a display of the peripheral equipment, in general.
In this operation guidance screen, there is shown an explanation by a display of symbols or sentences. The operator treats the main apparatus or the peripheral equipment by referring to this screen. The operator operates an input means such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc. with a progress of the measures taken to the main apparatus or the peripheral equipment, and proceed a display in the operation guidance screen displayed on a display unit.
However, if the operation guide is an explanation or the like by symbols or sentences, the operator has a difficulty in comprehending actual operation.
In order to provide more comprehensible operation guidance, a technique for reproducing operation guidance information (help information) through multi-media using image displays and sound outputs has rapidly spread in recent years. However, a function to display detailed operation guidance information is rarely provided to the individual peripheral equipment such as a printer. For this, it is difficult for the operator to grasp an actual operation.
According to the operation guidance information reproducing technique above-described, the operator needs to operate a keyboard, a mouse or the like to input any instruction every occasion when the operator refers to a guidance of an operation that the operator should perform next with a progress of measures taken to the main apparatus or the peripheral equipment. This is extremely troublesome.
If a number of users use the apparatus, it is desirable to provide help information depending on a level of skill of the user. If basic information is provided to a user in a senior level for a long time, or help information in which a lot of technical terms are used is provided to a user in a beginner level who has no knowledge about the apparatus, the user might be forced an inefficient work.
As means to provide help information in different degrees of difficulty and detail depending on a level of skill of a user, there have been known a technique in which the apparatus judges a level of skill of the user and stores it, a technique in which the user inputs his or her level of skill to the apparatus, or a technique in which a level of skill of individual operator is managed on the basis of a personal ID information such as an operator card.
However, the technique in which the apparatus judges a level of skill of each user and store it in order to provide help information in a level of difficulty and detail meeting a level of the operator has a problem that this technique is applicable to an apparatus which is used by a sole and the same operator any time. If another user tries to use a help function of this apparatus, help information not conforming to a level of this user is reproduced, thus it is hopeless that the user can effectively use a help function.
In relation with the technique where the user inputs his own level of skill into the apparatus, the user needs to specify as to which level the user himself or herself corresponds before watching an actual help information. If the user calls help information of a certain level to which the user considers that a skill of the user corresponds to, but contents of this is too difficult for this user, the user needs to return to a screen for selecting a level and again select the help information in a level for beginner.
According to the technique managing a degree of skill depending on a skill of individual operator based on a personal ID information, the apparatus simply stores a degree of skill of the operator. If the user accidentally forgets an operation on that day which the user could do in the past, or the user forgets the operation since a considerable time has been elapsed since he or she operated last, the user needs to select a level of the help information again after all. It is hard to say that this method is perfect.
Particularly, in the case of an apparatus in which an error occurs infrequently (such as a cash depositing/paying machine in bank under an obligation that, for example, a medium is supplied at a fixed time everyday), it happens often that the operator could operate the last time, but cannot this time. If a level of skill of a user is decided fixedly and a help information according to the level is reproduced, an inefficient work might be forced to the user.
There is, therefore, a demand for a technique in which a user can use help information meeting a level of the user by selecting a level of the help information in a hierarchical configuration as in a step-by-step down fashion, while referring to contents of the help information categorized in different levels of difficulty. There is also a demand for a development of a system by which the user can automatically use the help information while confirming a progress of recovery with the aid of mechanical sensors without troubling the user himself or herself.
If plural events such as errors occur simultaneously, the operation guidance has been given for each event. It is very ineffective that the user takes measures for each event. In the worst case, it might happen that the user needs to do a work twice, which can be omitted if an order of work is taken into consideration. Therefore, there is a demand for a technique which can realize reproduction of help information in different levels of difficulty and detail depending on a skill of the user, and can cope with error in the most efficient order without a need to repeat the same operation by omitting a useless work if plural errors occur.
The above-stated multi-media used for guidance of an operation or the like has been spread in recent years, particularly. As a result, a multi-media title for providing multi-media information or a reproducing apparatus used therefor become quickly popular. Typically, the user at the end of the multi-media (an end user) can use the multi-media information only along a scenario prepared in advance by a multi-media title producer.
However, interactivity of information is a material element that decides a spread of multi-media softwares. It is desired that the end user can use only a desiring information reproduced, in a mode meeting a demand of the user and efficiently, not only being provided a scenario prepared by a producer of the multi-media title. The multi-media title requires a considerable large storage capacity. For this, it is impossible to use a portable small capacity storage medium such as a floppy disk for the multi-media title.